Utility industry bigwigs joined Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz at the White House to announce two initiatives to promote electric transportation technologies. More than 70 investor-owned electric utilities will increase investment by about $250 million over 5 years to add more electric vehicles to their fleets, starting in 2015. Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) and the… Read more »
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The inside story of how Nevada won the Tesla Gigafactory site
Outsiders to the auto industry they may be, but Elon Musk and his merry band of Teslanauts are masters at working the system to get what they want. A recent article in Fortune tells the tale of how Tesla skillfully played the state tax-incentive game, and scored a sweet deal on its Gigafactory site in… Read more »
Automakers respond to tough questions about fuel cells
Fuel cell vehicles – love ‘em or hate ‘em, they’re here. The Toyota Mirai made its debut at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show, and is scheduled to go on sale next year. The 2015 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell has been available for lease since June. Honda plans to launch its hydrogen offering within two… Read more »
VIA Motors earns EPA certification, begins delivering vehicles
VIA Motors has received official certification from the EPA for its eREV van, and has begun delivering vehicles to fleet customers. According to the company, 23 vans have already been delivered, with three more in transit and more on the way. SEE ALSO: New white paper urges utilities to electrify their vehicle fleets Based on a… Read more »
California considers lifting ban on utilities owning EVSE
Two California utility companies have requested permission to enter the EV charging station business, and a group of state legislators has recommended that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) lift a 2011 ban on investor-owned utilities owning EV charging infrastructure. The original intent of the ban was to protect competition in what was then a… Read more »
Daimler subsidiary Li-Tec to cease production of battery cells
Daimler subsidiary Li-Tec will stop producing Li-ion battery cells in December, closing the only German factory currently producing cells for EVs. “Our cells are very good, but at current production figures far too expensive,” Daimler Manager Harald Kröger told Der Spiegel. “We have realized that a car manufacturer does not have to produce the cells… Read more »
Lexus ad ridicules BMW i3
They’re at it again. As Toyota execs talk trash about electric powertrains, subsidiary Lexus has launched a second ad campaign (via Green Car Reports) that makes fun of EVs, touting pure hybrids as superior. In the latest five-minute video (perhaps an outtake from the new Dumb and Dumber movie), two groups of jokers set out on a… Read more »
BMW’s fast charging strategy: Clarifying some nuanced announcements
Range anxiety: we’re not sure whether it’s a serious disease or a psychosomatic ailment, but it’s one of the most commonly-cited objections heard from potential EV buyers, and automakers take it quite seriously. All of the top EV-makers are investing heavily in public charging infrastructure in an effort to eradicate this dreaded malady. At the… Read more »
Industry experts discuss the fascinating road ahead for EV batteries
What’s really going on with batteries? A recent panel discussion from Autoline (via Green Car Reports) asked three experts – one from one of the world’s biggest battery concerns, one from a promising startup, and one academic – and they see great things ahead. Host John McElroy starts out the way all mainstream media stories on EVs do… Read more »
Thin-film supercapacitors could be embedded in body panels
Researchers around the world are working on supercapacitors (aka ultracaps), whose high power density makes them a perfect complement for lithium-ion batteries. Meanwhile, a couple of visionaries at Volvo have been thinking about ways to get around the high space requirements of batteries by storing energy in a car’s body panels. Image Courtesy of Volvo… Read more »